MSI P965 Neo or Intel DP965LT ?

[Smiler]

MSI P965 Neo or Intel DP965LT ?

I don’t believe either of these motherboards are renowned for over clocking and they don’t support SLI, but if those things aren’t a factor which would you buy to use with an Intel Core 2 Duo 6300 CPU?

The Intel board costs slightly more than the MSI but it appears to have the advantage of firewire.

Thank you.

MSI P965 Neo: http://msicomputer.co.uk/Products.aspx?product_id=703735&cat_id=77
Intel DP965LT: http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/dp965lt/

 

[WR2]

Added Biostar TForce965PT and Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 to the two mentioned above in this side-by-side comparison:4 P965 sub $125 motherboards
The GA-965P-S3 is a respected MB with excellent overclocking results. And the Biostar is somewhere in the middle, OC wise, and reported to be somewhat finicky. There is a $38 spread between the MSI Neo-F and GA-965P-S3.
IMO the extra $38 is a bargain considering what you get.
My 2nd choice would be the MSI Neo-F board unless you're looking for Firewire support.

 

[Smiler]

Thank you WR2.

If we're looking at other alternatives, what about ASUS?

Would you say that the ASUS P5N32-SLI SE DLX Sli Motherboard is worth an extra £61.50 (UK Pounds) over the MSI Neo? Although I'm not intending to use two graphics cards to benefit from the SLI.

Or how about the Asus P5B Deluxe for an extra £51.05 over the MSI Neo?

 

[WR2]

MSI P965 Platinum, Asus P5B Deluxe, Asus ASUS P5N32-SLI SE, Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6
As you compare the feature sets side-by-side against the price it's just up to your requirements (and budget). Among the board with 2 PCI-E x16 slots I'd say the P5B Deluxe is best overall choice among the four. Then it would be the MSI for value, and DQ6 for quality.
My philosophy is to balance overall cost with frequency of replacement. If you're buying a new computer every 2-2.5 years it makes sense to go with the mid-range options MSI Neo-F or GA-965P-S3. If you're the type that upgrades every 4 years the Asus P5 Deluxe & MSI Platinum have the best chance for staying competitive with future technology through upgrades (as in some type of physics processor or dual GPU in the 2nd PCI-E x16 slot.
I prefer to buy a decent mid-range computer that meets my needs and budget. And instead of doing mid-life upgrades just bank those funds I would have used upgrading for the next new system I'll get in 24-30 months.

 

[Vein]

This depends on several things. First off, it sounds as though you have no intentions to 1. overclock, and 2. have sli/xfire. That being the case, a simple board is just fine. What processor and what type of memory do you want/can afford? Many boards are limited to memory that requires 1.8volts, so be very careful what you buy. I have the DP965LT, and it is great for everything from folding at home to gaming. It will get the job done, no problem, and be rock stable in doing so. The MSI board is not very good, and I would stay away from it. Just be sure to note, the Intel board does not have raid features, so if you need that, you'll need to get a different board. If you need raid, I would probably stick with a Gigabyte P-S3 or DS3 board. The D6Q and Asus boards are nicer, but they have a lot of "extras" that most people don't need or want. Plus, they are a lot more expensive...

 

[outlw6669]

The MSI p965 platinum and Asus p5b delux are 2 great choices.

The MSI for price, features and decent overclocking.
The Asus for extream overclocking, features and top quality.

Bouth support crossfire, might even be worth it when ATI comes out with their new cards.

Don't forget to get some good ram and a big powersuply.

 

[Smiler]

Well, I ended up with a Gigabyte P965P-S3.

Did the build yesterday and it's still working today!

Cheers.

 

[WR2]

Good to know.....thanks for the update.